Both sides of their only official single release, Zoot Suit / I'm the Face (released on major mod label Fontana in 1964), were works of plagiarism; respectively, "Zoot Suit" and "I'm the Face" were Meaden's reworkings of "Misery" by The Dynamics, and "I Got Love If You Want It" by Slim Harpo. Both were well-known mod songs; by all accounts, angered mods were the primary cause the single's failure. The band quickly broke off their association with Meaden, and would shortly earn the mods' affection, and indeed became one of the most emblematic "mod" bands of all time.
In 1974, The Who released the album Quadrophenia, their second rock opera, its lyrical subject matter being a search for identity during the heyday of the mods. Fittingly, lyrical references to "I'm the Face" and "Zoot Suit" appeared in the songs "Cut My Hair" and "Sea and Sand", respectively. "Zoot Suit" later appeared on the soundtrack for the film adaptation of Quadrophenia, whereas the two aforementioned album cuts were used only in abridged forms.
The High Numbers' only single was released alongside two other studio cuts ("Leaving Here" and "Here 't Is") as part of The Who's box set Thirty Years of Maximum R&B. A number of High Numbers performances also exist in bootleg audio, or video form; most notably, this includes one, or several, performances during their residency at the Marquee Club in London.
Shepherd's Bush, West London, United Kingdom
Leaving Here
The High Numbers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah, the women in this town have been misused,
Yeah, I seen it all in my dreams last night,
Girls leaving this town 'cause you don't treat 'em right.
Oh, take a train (take a train), fly by plane (fly by plane),
Yeah, gettin' tired (gettin' tired), sick and tired (sick and tired).
All you fellas better change your ways,
Girls are good, you better treat 'em true,
I seen fellas running around with someone new.
Gettin' tired (gettin' tired), sick and tired (sick and tired),
Yeah, leavin' here (leavin' here), leavin' here (leavin' here),
I said leavin' here, yeah yeah yeah, don't want to leave all here,
Be a while, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.
The love of a women is a wonderful thing (oh yeah),
Yeah, the way you treat 'em is a crying shame (oh yeah),
I tell you, fella, yeah, it won't be long (oh yeah),
Yeah, before these women they all have gone (oh yeah).
Yeah, gettin' tired (gettin' tired), sick and tired (sick and tired),
Yeah, take a train (take a train), fly by plane (fly by plane),
Yeah, gonna leavin' here, yeah leavin' here,
Yeah, leavin' here, ya gonna leave all here now,
Baby baby baby, please don't leave here.
The lyrics to The High Numbers' song Leaving Here describe the mistreatment of women in the town that the singer is addressing. He has had a dream that the women in the town are leaving because they are not being treated correctly. The singer urges the men to change their ways before the women all leave. He describes how the love of a woman is a wonderful thing, but the way they are being treated is a crying shame. The singer is saying that men need to start treating women with respect and kindness or they will be left with nobody.
The song has a message that still rings true today about respecting women and treating them with kindness. The song was written in 1963 by Holland-Dozier-Holland and has been covered by many artists since then. The High Numbers, who later became The Who, covered the song in 1964 as their second single. The song was a minor hit in the UK, but it is now considered a classic.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, fellas, have you heard the news,
Attention, men: there is a situation that you should be made aware of.
Yeah, the women in this town have been misused,
Women in this town have been mistreated.
Yeah, I seen it all in my dreams last night,
I had a dream that showed me all of this.
Girls leaving this town 'cause you don't treat 'em right.
Females are leaving because they are not being treated properly.
Oh, take a train (take a train), fly by plane (fly by plane),
You can go by train or by plane.
Yeah, gettin' tired (gettin' tired), sick and tired (sick and tired).
I'm getting tired and fed up with this situation.
All you fellas better change your ways,
Men, you need to change how you act.
Yeah, leaving this town in a matter of days,
The women are leaving the town very soon.
Girls are good, you better treat 'em true,
Women are good, so you need to treat them with respect.
I seen fellas running around with someone new.
I have seen men with other women.
Yeah, leavin' here (leavin' here), leavin' here (leavin' here),
They are leaving this town.
I said leavin' here, yeah yeah yeah, don't want to leave all here,
They do not want to leave everything behind.
Be a while, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah.
It will be some time before they return.
The love of a women is a wonderful thing (oh yeah),
Women's love is a great thing.
Yeah, the way you treat 'em is a crying shame (oh yeah),
However, the way they have been treated is terrible.
I tell you, fella, yeah, it won't be long (oh yeah),
It will not be long before women leave because of mistreatment.
Yeah, before these women they all have gone (oh yeah).
Before you know it, all the women will have left.
Baby baby baby, please don't leave here.
An appeal to a specific person not to leave.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy Jr.
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind